Reflections from Steve Crocker - 21 May 2025

Hello and welcome to my 16th blog as independent chair of the Oxfordshire SEND Strategic Improvement and Assurance Board (SIAB).

The board met once more on 21 May. 

Our meeting covered a range of important topics, each contributing to our ongoing efforts to enhance the support and services for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in Oxfordshire. 

We started by reviewing the notes from our last meeting, ensuring accuracy and addressing any matters arising. An update on the county county elections was then provided, including changes in the council’s cabinet. Councillor Sean Gaul is the new Cabinet Member for Children and Young People and will be invited to join the board. 

We also acknowledged and welcomed Niki Cartwright, Director of Performance and Delivery for NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (BOB ICB), and Mark McCurrie, Independent SEND Advisor commissioned by the Department for Education to the meeting. Their expertise will be invaluable as we continue our work.

Sophia Johnson from Oxfordshire Parent Carers Forum (OxPCF) presented progress on the themes tracker, which collects feedback from parent carers. We discussed the importance of defining themes, managing the tracker, and ensuring effective communication with schools and other stakeholders.

Anna Jennings, Head of Transformation at the county council, provided an update on the SEND improvement plan, highlighting the need to align our actions with the priority areas identified by Ofsted. We discussed the importance of incorporating feedback from health and social care and ensuring our plan is comprehensive and actionable. 

Each theme group then provided updates on their progress:

• Theme 1 (inclusion and early help): Nathan Thomas, CEO Acer Trust, reported there was continuous progress on work to improve the inclusion strategy and early help pathways.
• Theme 2 (education health and care plans (EHCPs) and quality plans): Deborah Smit, Assistant Director SEND and Inclusion at the county council, and Karen Fern, Designated Clinical Officer SEND 0 - 25 at BOB ICB highlighted the increase in EHCP needs assessment applications and the efforts to improve timeliness and quality.
• Theme 3 (specialist services access): Chris Wright, Assistant Director, Partnership Development at BOB ICB, discussed the review of special school nursing, including recommendations for better deployment of existing resources based on needs within schools. The retendering process for the child and adolescent mental health service is also going to plan and project boards are being set up for each of the four transformation workstreams. These workstreams include the neurodevelopmental pathway, transitions to adulthood within mental health services, mental health supports available in schools, and complex children in crises.
• Theme 4 (preparation for adulthood): Karen and Sam Harper, Head of Learning Disabilities Provision Services (adults) at the county council shared updates on the SEND Employment Forum and discussed improving careers advice in schools and colleges and post-16 education and employment opportunities. Karen mentioned that the SEND youth forum has been instrumental in developing the strategy for theme 4 and that we need to involve members in shaping strategic ideas and ensuring their views are incorporated into the provision itself.

Kate Reynolds, the county council’s Deputy Director of Education, presented the latest KPIs, showing improvements in EHCP timeliness and a decrease in the percentage of young people with EHCPs not in education, employment, or training. We also discussed the need for clear targets and ongoing monitoring. 

Kate and Martyn Rawlinson, Education Improvement Consultant, provided an overview of the progress in alternative education provision (AEP), including the establishment of the AEP Board, the development of a strategy, and the move to a framework for all providers. We also heard from headteachers Simon Knight and Jacqui West about their experiences and the importance of quality assurance. We discussed how we will gather feedback from children, young people and parents. 

Nathan presented the results of a survey of secondary schools, highlighting the positive feedback on the SEND helpdesk and the need for improvements in EHCP consultations and staffing. Nathan reported the survey suggested that the relationship between local authorities and schools has improved, with a willingness to work in partnership. 

Gary McKelvey, ICT Programme Manager for the county council, introduced the new data dashboard, which provides a strategic overview of the SEND process, including EHCP requests, timeliness, and appeals. This tool will be crucial for ongoing monitoring and decision-making. 

So that's it from me for now, and I hope, as always, this is useful. We next meet as a board on 24 June 2025. 

If you are a parent or carer and have any thoughts or comments, please share with OxPCF by emailing info@oxpcf.org.uk. If you are a partner, please do feedback through your organisation. You can find a list of the local area partnership member representatives on the board on the SEND improvement webpage. Also don't forget to sign-up to receive the SEND e-newsletter if you're not already receiving it. Parents and carers can also read OxPCF’s SEND Connect newsletters, which include news and information from across the local area partnership.

Until next time. 

Steve Crocker
Chair, SEND Improvement and Assurance Board